The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
Typically, crutches are an ambulation aid that can be used as a single side aid or dual side, one on each side of a patient with a leg injury. Crutches can also be used ascending or descending stairs, commonly using only one crutch while holding the handrail to be easier and safer. However, when crutches are used on rather flat surfaces, movement is rather slow compared to normal two-leg walking.
It is also known that knee walkers provide another ambulation aid that utilizes a soft lower platform for the user to place the knee. The knee walker includes front handles to hold while pushing along with the good leg, like a scooter. The knee walker can come in different types, some with steerable front wheels, some with 3 or 4 wheels, and some with carrying baskets.
However, these knee crutches are relatively heavy compared to a common crutch and are problematic to use on stairs, working only on flat surfaces. Knee crutches usually have a hand brake which can be set to hold the unit from rolling then stopped or to slow down the unit while traveling. Thus, it can be advantageous to convert between a crutch and a knee walker with minimal effort or skillset.
Other proposals have involved crutches and knee walker combination devices. The problem with these ambulation devices is that they do not allow the user to conveniently switch between a crutch and a knee walker. Also, the knee walker does not have gear mechanism to restrict the wheels from rolling. Even though the above cited ambulation devices meets some of the needs of the market, a combination crutch and knee walker device that easily converts between a knee walker and a crutch through a single folding or expanding articulation is still desired.